Meanwhile, the most telling thing about the game's latest update is how little there is to say
Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launched in early February and, while far from the disaster some were predicting after its lengthy development and multiple delays, so far hasn’t set the world alight. Much of the criticism focuses on the game’s live service element, but Morgan found the endgame was basically the best part: it’s just a major grind to get there.
At launch Rocksteady promised a cadence of weekly developer updates, and committing to such regular public communication may well be admirable but, y’know, some weeks there just isn’t much to say. The latest developer update is most notable for there being so little to it.
That may well be because “we at Rocksteady are hard at work making sure the game is in the best shape it can be” for the Season 1 launch, which is the game’s next chance to gather some momentum with the Joker as a new playable character. As for what else to expect, there’s “a new Elseworld to explore, an arsenal of new weapons and gear, new missions and more.” All of this is free content for owners of the game.
The post acknowledges that players are still experiencing some technical issues, says “we hear your frustration and thank you for your patience”, and points players towards the Known Issues page where it lists various workarounds.
This page is actually more interesting than the update itself, listing various problems players may be experiencing and how to get around them while waiting for a proper fix. It’s a good idea to be so transparent about this stuff, even if in some cases the workaround is the classic IT solution of “restart it”, and it’s nice to know that if your gear slot gets locked you’ve just got to go and chat to the Penguin and do a bit of crafting.
Perhaps the most telling point in this update is where it ends: with a plug for Suicide Squad’s digital deluxe edition and the fact it’s currently on sale at 40% off. The standard edition has the same discount until March 21. A month-and-a-bit after launch, that’s a bad sign for a game that spent over eight years in development, and unfortunately follows the Warner Bros. suits putting the boot into their own baby, with the company’s most recent financial report saying it “has fallen short of our expectations.“.
Rocksteady has long-term plans to support Suicide Squad, and among its promises for the first year are an offline mode (while it also seemingly leaked a playable Mr. Freeze via a Brainiac voice line). But this already looks like an uphill struggle and, given Warner Bros.’ oft-seen ruthlessness about underperforming products, it really needs to spark some excitement and interest soon. Suicide Squad will be launching on the Epic Games Store on March 26, and Season 1 kicks off with the Joker on March 28.
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